Probe Adds to Rating Firms' Woes

Attorney General's Inquiry Adds to Scrutiny of How Mortgage Bonds Were Evaluated Before Crisis

By

Jeannette Neumann

Updated Feb. 7, 2013 8:15 p.m. ET

New York's top prosecutor has launched a probe into the conduct of the three major credit-ratings firms, according to a person familiar with the matter, opening another legal front for an industry that remains in the cross hairs of state and federal investigators.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman this week subpoenaed Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and formally requested information from Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings to examine ratings they issued in the run-up to the financial crisis, the...